---
layout: docs
page_title: Allocation Filesystems
description: |-
  Learn how Nomad uses allocation working directories to store job task templates, storage volumes, artifacts, dispatch payloads, and logs. Review image and chroot isolation, as well as when Nomad uses isolation mode.
---

# Allocation Filesystems

This page provides conceptual information about how Nomad uses allocation
working directories to store job task templates, storage volumes, artifacts,
dispatch payloads, and logs. Review image and chroot isolation, as well as when
Nomad does not use any isolation mode.

Nomad creates a working directory for each allocation on a client. Find this
directory in the Nomad [`data_dir`] at
`./alloc/«alloc_id»`. The allocation working directory is where Nomad
creates task directories and directories shared between tasks, writes logs for
tasks, and downloads artifacts or templates.

An allocation with two tasks (named `task1` and `task2`) will have an
allocation directory like this example.

```shell-session
.
├── alloc
│   ├── data
│   ├── logs
│   │   ├── task1.stderr.0
│   │   ├── task1.stdout.0
│   │   ├── task2.stderr.0
│   │   └── task2.stdout.0
│   └── tmp
├── task1
│   ├── local
│   ├── private
│   ├── secrets
│   └── tmp
└── task2
    ├── local
    ├── private
    ├── secrets
    └── tmp
```

- **alloc/**: This directory is shared across all tasks in an allocation and
  can be used to store data that needs to be used by multiple tasks, such as a
  log shipper. This is the directory that's provided to the task as the
  `NOMAD_ALLOC_DIR`. Note that this `alloc/` directory is not the same as the
  "allocation working directory", which is the top-level directory. All tasks
  in a task group can read and write to the `alloc/` directory. But the full host
  path may differ depending on the task driver's [filesystem isolation mode], so
  tasks should always used the `NOMAD_ALLOC_DIR` environment variable
  to find this path rather than relying on the specific implementation of the
  [`none`](#none-isolation), [`chroot`](#chroot-isolation), or [`image`](#image-isolation)
  modes. Within the `alloc/` directory are three standard directories:

  - **alloc/data/**: This directory is the location used by the
    [`ephemeral_disk`] block for shared data.

  - **alloc/logs/**: This directory is the location of the log files for every
    task within an allocation. The `nomad alloc logs` command streams these
    files to your terminal.

  - **alloc/tmp/**: A temporary directory used as scratch space by task drivers.

- **«taskname»**: Each task has a **task working directory** with the same name as
  the task. Tasks in a task group can't read each other's task working
  directory. Depending on the task driver's [filesystem isolation mode], a
  task may not be able to access the task working directory. Within the
  `task/` directory are three standard directories:

  - **«taskname»/local/**: This directory is the location provided to the task as the
    `NOMAD_TASK_DIR`. Note this is not the same as the "task working
    directory". This directory is private to the task.

  - **«taskname»/private/**: This directory is used by Nomad to store private files
    related to the allocation, such as Vault tokens, that are not shared with tasks
    when using [`image` isolation](#image-isolation). The contents of files in this
    directory cannot be read by the `nomad alloc fs` command or the via Nomad's
    API.
    <Warning>
      While not shared with tasks that use <code>image</code> isolation, this
      path is still accessible by tasks using <a href="#chroot-isolation">
      <code>chroot</code></a> or <a href="#none-isolation"><code>none</code></a> isolation
    </Warning>

  - **«taskname»/secrets/**: This directory is the location provided to the task as
    `NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR`. The contents of files in this directory cannot be read
    by the `nomad alloc fs` command. It can be used to store secret data that
    should not be visible outside the task. Where possible it is backed by an
    in-memory filesystem and mounted `noexec`.

  - **«taskname»/tmp/**: A temporary directory used as scratch space by task drivers.

The allocation working directory is the directory you see when using the
`nomad alloc fs` command. If you were to run `nomad alloc fs` against the
allocation that made the working directory shown above, you'd see the
following:

```shell-session
$ nomad alloc fs c0b2245f
Mode        Size     Modified Time         Name
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:00:39Z  alloc/
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:00:32Z  task1/
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:00:39Z  task2/

$ nomad alloc fs c0b2245f alloc/
Mode        Size     Modified Time         Name
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:00:32Z  data/
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:00:39Z  logs/
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:00:32Z  tmp/

$ nomad alloc fs c0b2245f task1/
Mode         Size     Modified Time         Name
drwxrwxrwx   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:00:33Z  local/
drwxrwxrwx   60 B     2020-10-27T18:00:32Z  private/
drwxrwxrwx   60 B     2020-10-27T18:00:32Z  secrets/
dtrwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:00:32Z  tmp/
```

## Task Drivers and Filesystem Isolation Modes

Depending on the task driver, the task's working directory may also be the
root directory for the running task. This is determined by the task driver's
[filesystem isolation capability].

### `image` isolation

Task drivers like `docker` or `qemu` use `image` isolation, where the task
driver isolates task filesystems as machine images. These filesystems are
owned by the task driver's external process and not by Nomad itself. These
filesystems will not typically be found anywhere in the allocation working
directory. For example, Docker containers will have their overlay filesystem
unpacked to `/var/run/docker/containerd/«container_id»` by default.

Nomad will provide the `NOMAD_ALLOC_DIR`, `NOMAD_TASK_DIR`, and
`NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR` to tasks with `image` isolation, typically by
bind-mounting them to the task driver's filesystem.

You can see an example of `image` isolation by running the following minimal
job:

```hcl
job "example" {
  datacenters = ["dc1"]

  task "task1" {
    driver = "docker"

    config {
      image = "redis:6.0"
    }
  }
}
```

If you look at the allocation working directory from the host, you'll see a
minimal filesystem tree:

```shell-session
.
├── alloc
│   ├── data
│   ├── logs
│   │   ├── task1.stderr.0
│   │   └── task1.stdout.0
│   └── tmp
└── task1
    ├── local
    ├── private
    ├── secrets
    └── tmp
```

The `nomad alloc fs` command shows the same bare directory tree:

```shell-session
$ nomad alloc fs b0686b27
Mode        Size     Modified Time         Name
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:51:54Z  alloc/
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:51:54Z  task1/

$ nomad alloc fs b0686b27 task1
Mode         Size     Modified Time         Name
drwxrwxrwx   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:51:54Z  local/
drwxrwxrwx   60 B     2020-10-27T18:51:54Z  private/
drwxrwxrwx   60 B     2020-10-27T18:51:54Z  secrets/
dtrwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T18:51:54Z  tmp/

$ nomad alloc fs b0686b27 task1/local
Mode  Size  Modified Time  Name
```

If you inspect the Docker container that's created, you'll see three
directories bind-mounted into the container:

```shell-session
$ docker inspect 32e | jq '.[0].HostConfig.Binds'
[
  "/var/nomad/alloc/b0686b27-8af3-8252-028f-af485c81a8b3/alloc:/alloc",
  "/var/nomad/alloc/b0686b27-8af3-8252-028f-af485c81a8b3/task1/local:/local",
  "/var/nomad/alloc/b0686b27-8af3-8252-028f-af485c81a8b3/task1/secrets:/secrets"
]
```

The root filesystem inside the container can see these three mounts, along
with the rest of the container filesystem:

```shell-session
$ docker exec -it 32e /bin/sh
# ls /
alloc  boot  dev  home  lib64  media  opt   root  sbin     srv  tmp  var
bin    data  etc  lib   local  mnt    proc  run   secrets  sys  usr
```

Note that because the three directories are bind-mounted into the container
filesystem, nothing written outside those three directories elsewhere in the
allocation working directory will be accessible inside the container. This
means templates, artifacts, and dispatch payloads for tasks with `image`
isolation must be written into the `NOMAD_ALLOC_DIR`, `NOMAD_TASK_DIR`, or
`NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR`.

To work around this limitation, you can use the task driver's mounting
capabilities to mount one of the three directories to another location in the
task. For example, with the Docker driver you can use the driver's `mounts`
block to bind a secret written by a `template` block to the
`NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR` into a configuration directory elsewhere in the task:

```hcl
job "example" {
  datacenters = ["dc1"]

  task "task1" {
    driver = "docker"

    config {
      image = "redis:6.0"
      mounts = [{
        type     = "bind"
        source   = "secrets"
        target   = "/etc/redis.d"
        readonly = true
      }]

      template {
        destination = "${NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR}/redis.conf"
        data        = <<EOT
{{ with secret "secrets/data/redispass" }}
requirepass {{- .Data.data.passwd -}}{{end}}
EOT

      }
    }
  }
}
```

Note that relative mount source path are relative to the task working
directory, so to bind the `NOMAD_ALLOC_DIR` as a mount source, you will need
to use a relative path that traverses up into the allocation working directory
(ex. `source = "../alloc"`).

### `chroot` isolation

Task drivers like `exec` or `java` (on Linux) use `chroot` isolation, where
the task driver isolates task filesystems with `chroot` or `pivot_root`. These
isolated filesystems will be built inside the task working directory.

You can see an example of `chroot` isolation by running the following minimal
job on Linux:

```hcl
job "example" {
  datacenters = ["dc1"]

  task "task2" {
    driver = "exec"

    config {
      command = "/bin/sh"
      args = ["-c", "sleep 600"]
    }
  }
}
```

If you look at the allocation working directory from the host, you'll see a
filesystem tree that has been populated with the task driver's [chroot
contents], in addition to the `NOMAD_ALLOC_DIR`, `NOMAD_TASK_DIR`, and
`NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR`:

```shell-session
.
├── alloc
│   ├── container
│   ├── data
│   ├── logs
│   └── tmp
└── task2
    ├── alloc
    ├── bin
    ├── dev
    ├── etc
    ├── executor.out
    ├── lib
    ├── lib32
    ├── lib64
    ├── local
    ├── private
    ├── proc
    ├── run
    ├── sbin
    ├── secrets
    ├── sys
    ├── tmp
    └── usr
```

Likewise, the root directory of the task is now available in the `nomad alloc fs` command output:

```shell-session
$ nomad alloc fs eebd13a7
Mode        Size     Modified Time         Name
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:24Z  alloc/
drwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:24Z  task2/

$ nomad alloc fs eebd13a7 task2
Mode         Size     Modified Time         Name
drwxrwxrwx   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:24Z  alloc/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  bin/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:24Z  dev/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  etc/
-rw-r--r--   297 B    2020-10-27T19:05:24Z  executor.out
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  lib/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  lib32/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  lib64/
drwxrwxrwx   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  local/
drwxrwxrwx   60 B     2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  private/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:24Z  proc/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  run/
drwxr-xr-x   12 KiB   2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  sbin/
drwxrwxrwx   60 B     2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  secrets/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:24Z  sys/
dtrwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  tmp/
drwxr-xr-x   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:05:22Z  usr/
```

Nomad will provide the `NOMAD_ALLOC_DIR`, `NOMAD_TASK_DIR`, and
`NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR` to tasks with `chroot` isolation. But unlike with `image`
isolation, Nomad does not need to bind-mount the `NOMAD_TASK_DIR` directory
because it can be directly created inside the chroot.

```shell-session
$ nomad alloc exec eebd13a7 /bin/sh
$ mount
...
/dev/mapper/root on /alloc type ext4 (rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro,data=ordered)
tmpfs on /private type tmpfs (rw,noexec,relatime,size=1024k)
tmpfs on /secrets type tmpfs (rw,noexec,relatime,size=1024k,noswap)
...
```

### `none` isolation

The `raw_exec` task driver (or the `java` task driver on Windows) uses the
`none` filesystem isolation mode. This means the task driver does not isolate
the filesystem for the task, and the task can read and write anywhere the
user that's running Nomad can.

You can see an example of `none` isolation by running the following minimal
`raw_exec` job on Linux or Unix.

```hcl
job "example" {
  datacenters = ["dc1"]

  task "task3" {
    driver = "raw_exec"

    config {
      command = "/bin/sh"
      args = ["-c", "sleep 600"]
    }
  }
}
```

If you look at the allocation working directory from the host, you'll see a
minimal filesystem tree:

```shell-session
.
├── alloc
│   ├── data
│   ├── logs
│   │   ├── task3.stderr.0
│   │   └── task3.stdout.0
│   └── tmp
└── task3
    ├── executor.out
    ├── local
    ├── private
    ├── secrets
    └── tmp
```

The `nomad alloc fs` command shows the same bare directory tree:

```shell-session
$ nomad alloc fs 87ec7d12 task3
Mode         Size     Modified Time         Name
-rw-r--r--   140 B    2020-10-27T19:15:33Z  executor.out
drwxrwxrwx   4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:15:33Z  local/
drwxrwxrwx   60 B     2020-10-27T19:15:33Z  private/
drwxrwxrwx   60 B     2020-10-27T19:15:33Z  secrets/
dtrwxrwxrwx  4.0 KiB  2020-10-27T19:15:33Z  tmp/
```

But if you use `nomad alloc exec` to view the filesystem from inside the
container, you'll see that the task has access to the entire root
filesystem. The `NOMAD_ALLOC_DIR`, `NOMAD_TASK_DIR`, and `NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR`
point to the filepath on the host, not a path anchored in the task working
directory. And the task is running as `root`, because the Nomad client agent
is running as `root`. This is why the `raw_exec` driver is disabled by
default.

```shell-session
$ nomad alloc exec 87ec7d12 /bin/sh
# ls /
bin   dev  home        lib    lib64   lost+found  mnt  proc  run   snap  sys  usr  vmlinuz
boot  etc  initrd.img  lib32  libx32  media       opt  root  sbin  srv   tmp  var

# echo $NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR
/var/nomad/alloc/87ec7d12-5e35-8fba-96cc-09e5376be15a/task3/secrets

# whoami
root
```

## Templates, Artifacts, and Dispatch Payloads

The other contents of the allocation working directory depend on what features
the job specification uses. The allocation working directory is populated by
other features in a specific order:

- The allocation working directory is created.
- The ephemeral disk data is [migrated] from any previous allocation.
- [CSI volumes] are staged.
- Then, for each task:
  - Task working directories are created.
  - [Dispatch payloads] are written.
  - [Artifacts] are downloaded.
  - [Templates] are rendered.
  - The task is started by the task driver, which includes all bind mounts and
    [volume mounts].

Dispatch payloads, artifacts, and templates are written to the task working
directory before a task can start because the resulting files may be binary or
image run by the task. For example, an `artifact` can be used to download a
Docker image or .jar file, or a `template` can be used to render a shell
script that's run by `exec`.

The `artifact` and `template` blocks write their data to a destination
relative to the task working directory, not the `NOMAD_TASK_DIR`. For task
drivers with `image` filesystem isolation, this means the `destination` field
path should be prefixed with either `NOMAD_TASK_DIR` or
`NOMAD_SECRETS_DIR`. Otherwise, the file will not be visible from inside the
resulting container. (The `dispatch_payload` block always writes its data to
the `NOMAD_TASK_DIR`.)

For [CSI volumes], the client will stage the volume before setting up the task
working directory. Staging typically involves mounting the volume into the CSI
plugin's task directory, sending commands to the plugin to format the volume
as required, and making a volume claim to the Nomad server.

The behavior of the `volume_mount` block is controlled by the task driver. The
client builds a mount configuration describing the host volume or CSI volume
and passes it to the task driver to execute. Because the task driver mounts
the volume, it is not possible to have `artifact`, `template`, or
`dispatch_payload` blocks write to a volume.

[artifacts]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/artifact
[csi volumes]: /nomad/docs/architecture/storage/csi
[dispatch payloads]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/dispatch_payload
[templates]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/template
[`data_dir`]: /nomad/docs/configuration#data_dir
[`ephemeral_disk`]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/ephemeral_disk
[artifact]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/artifact
[chroot contents]: /nomad/docs/deploy/task-driver/exec#chroot
[filesystem isolation capability]: /nomad/docs/concepts/plugins/task-drivers#capabilities-capabilities-error
[filesystem isolation mode]: #task-drivers-and-filesystem-isolation-modes
[migrated]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/ephemeral_disk#migrate
[template]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/template
[volume mounts]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/volume_mount
